Although Clear Lake led 11-2 after one quarter, coach Kory Reynolds said it could have been by a lot more.

"We missed so many layups," Reynolds said.

Those shots began to fall in the second quarter as the Cardinals put the game away with a 22-4 surge.

Clear Lake outscored Esparto 16-2 in the second half.

"All in all for the weekend the kids played well," Reynolds said. "They surpassed my expectations."

The Cardinals return to action Thursday at 7 p.m. against San Rafael in the opening round of the Redwood Empire Invitational in Healdsburg.

In other girls' action Saturday:

Fort Bragg 44, Upper Lake 32

The Fort Bragg Timberwolves pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Upper Lake Cougars in the championship game of the round-robin Lady Cougar Winter Classic at Upper Lake High School.

"It was a battle from the get-go," Upper Lake coach Mike Smith said.

Upper Lake (3-1) closed to 32-30 early in the fourth quarter before Fort Bragg closed the game with a 14-2 run.

"We had three fastbreak opportunities and couldn't convert," Smith said of the opening minutes of the final period. "We were pushing it too hard. Fort Bragg hit a couple of shots and got up by six. We were never able to get the momentum back."